Indiana Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Indicted

Submitted by kherda on March 27, 2003 - 10:49

Source:

EPA

The indictment of David Van Dyke of Warsaw, Ind., for violating multiple counts of the Clean Water Act was announced on March 12 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend.

The indictment alleges Van Dyke, who was the certified operator of the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant, illegally discharged solids, sludge and diesel fuel into Walnut Creek, which is a tributary of the Tippecanoe River.

The discharges damaged both Walnut Creek and the Tippecanoe River.

Van Dyke then tried to hide the illegal discharges and permit violations by altering and falsifying lab and plant operating reports, which are submitted the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The case was investigated by the Chicago Area Office of the EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and it is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Bend.